Singletary in as 49ers coach

It would have been shocking if the 49ers didn’t name interim head coach Mike Singletary to the permanent position, so it was expected that they would do so in short order after the season concluded. Of course, it was a little surprising that it was done before the team even reached the locker room after a last-minute field goal gave them their fifth win in the last seven games.

That’s a great move – Singletary has shown that he can take control, make sound decisions, inspire the team to play, and even keep big egos like that of Mike Martz in check. The more questionable decision was to promote 27 year-old Jeb York to the role of President. Having both Jeb and Mike in control of off-season manuevers means that the Niners will have no experience to draw from when those big decisions come around. In addition, it probably means that Scott Pioli won’t be adding his name to the mix, which though a long shot, would have really sparked my confidence in the future of the franchise.

Instead, Niner fans are left wondering if Martz will stick around and if the organization can really chart a new course through what could be an interesting couple of years. We’ll have to see what happens with Martz, as there seems to be conflicting reports in the last few days about his perceived status. While some consistency is badly needed in the OC position in San Francisco, I don’t think Martz is the long-term solution and I don’t think it makes sense to keep him any longer if he isn’t. If the right guy is available – which won’t be Norv Turner after tonight’s Chargers win – I hope the Niners pull the trigger. Martz’s offense isn’t as successful as it once was, and his system is overly complex and unique. Changing now will speed up the eventual transition process away from him. I think Martz did a decent job in the second half of the season, when Singletary spelled out who would be playing QB and what Martz’s gameplan would be, but I just don’t think he’s the right guy for the job.